Auburn football was without these key defensive players during its second scrimmage
AUBURN — Auburn football had its second scrimmage of the preseason Saturday, and the Tigers were forced to play without a few of their key defensive playmakers.
Coach Hugh Freeze named six players who missed the practice due to injuries: wide receivers Koy Moore, Malcolm Johnson Jr. and Nick Mardner, jack linebacker Jalen McLeod, defensive end Keldric Faulk and linebacker Austin Keys.
McLeod, Faulk and Keys are all expected to push for starting roles in 2023, with Mardner, Moore and Johnson in the mix as well.
"He tried (playing)," Freeze said of Faulk on Saturday. "But he's not ready."
At practice Thursday, Moore, Johnson, Faulk and Keys were in yellow non-contact jerseys. Mardner and McLeod were not, though the latter was notably absent during 11-on-11 drills and appeared somewhat limited.
"I thought we got good work in," Freeze said of the scrimmage. "It's a good way to end camp, and now it's time for us to get a lot of those guys out of those yellow jerseys, hopefully, and get them healthy with two weeks to go."
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Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football injury updates: Tigers without these players at scrimmage
